UNC Basketball vs. VCU: Game preview, info, prediction and more
· Yahoo Sports
The North Carolina Tar Heels will open up their NCAA Tournament run on Thursday night in Greenville, matched up against No. 11 VCU in the first round.
Visit chickenroad.qpon for more information.
After a season in which UNC went 24-8 and 12-6 in the ACC, UNC earned a No. 6 seed in the South Region. It's a tough region to be in for UNC especially without their best player in Caleb Wilson who is out for the year. But this team is hoping they can go on a run and shock some people.
The Rams enter this tournament winners of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and would have been left out of the field if they didn't. They are a good team with their leading scorer, Terrence Hill Jr., coming off the bench. In the first year under Phil Martelli Jr., the Rams have a deep rotation, going with 10 guys who can score and contribute throughout the game.
That's one of their strengths. The 34 points per game from the bench is seventh in the country and they shoot the basketball well from the three-point line.
As for UNC, they are looking to avoid a second-straight first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. They lost to No. 6 Ole Miss a year ago after beating San Diego State in the First Four in Dayton. In 55 years of being in the tournament, North Carolina has lost in the first round six times. But they have never lost in back-to-back years in that round.
This would be a historically bad stretch for UNC in terms of the tournament if they were to lose in the first round, marking the third time they would do that since 2021. They also missed the tournament in 2023 as well.
Something to watch
Can UNC set the tone early? North Carolina is the favorite but it's just a 2.5-point spread and while they are the favorite, VCU is playing that underdog role. Letting a team like VCU hang around in the game could be a problem for the Tar Heels.
They absolutely can't let VCU come out and dictate how this game is going to go. Instead, Hubert Davis' squad is going to need to set that tone early and show VCU how they ar egoing to play this game.
Key to victory
Rebounding. This has been a struggle for North Carolina pretty much all season long. Typically Tar Heels teams are good at rebounding but this year, it's been different. Part of the reason is the loss of Caleb Wilson. However, on the year UNC is allowing an opponent rebounding percentage of 29.6% which is 91st in the country.
The Tar Heels are going to have to find a way to win the rebounding battle.
Statistical leaders
Points
UNC: Caleb Wilson (19.8)
VCU: Terrance Hill (14.4)
Rebounds
UNC: Caleb Wilson (9.4)
VCU: Lazar Djokovic (5.4)
Assists
UNC: Caleb Wilson (2.7)
VCU: Terrance Hill (2.8)
What you need to know
WHAT? VCU Rams (27-7, 15-3 A10) vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (24-78 12-6 ACC)
WHEN? Thursday, March 19 at 6:50 p.m. ET
WHERE? Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greeeville, South Carolina
TV? TNT. (Ian Eagle, Bill Rafferty, Grant Hill, and Tracy Wolfson)
RADIO? SiriusXM (Channel 193)
LINE? UNC -2.5
LAST MEETING? N/A
ALL-TIME SERIES: First meeting
2025-26 UNC Basketball Schedule
October 4: Blue-White Scrimmage (White 55, Blue 50)
Oct. 24: at BYU (preseason, L 78-76)
Oct. 29: vs. Winston-Salem State (preseason, W 95-53)
Nov. 3: vs. Central Arkansas (W, 94-54)
Nov. 7: vs. Kansas (W, 87-74)
Nov. 11: vs. Radford (W, 89-74)
Nov. 14: vs. NC Central (W, 97-53)
Nov. 18: vs. Navy (W, 73-61)
Nov. 25: vs. St. Bonaventure in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (W, 85-70)
Nov. 27: vs. Michigan State in Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off (L, 74-58)
December 2: at Kentucky (W, 67-64)
Dec. 7: vs. Georgetown (W, 81-61)
Dec. 13: vs. USC Upstate (W, 80-62)
Dec. 16: vs. ETSU (W, 77-58)
Dec. 20: vs. Ohio State in CBS Sports Classic (W, 71-70)
Dec. 22: vs. East Carolina (W, 99-51)
Dec. 30: vs. Florida State (W 79-66)
January 3, 2026: at SMU (L 97-83)
Jan. 10, 2026: vs. Wake Forest (W 87-84)
Jan. 14, 2026: at Stanford (L 95-90)
Jan. 17, 2026: at California (L 84-78)
Jan. 21, 2026: vs. Notre Dame (W 90-69)
Jan. 24, 2026: at Virginia (W 85-80)
Jan. 31, 2026: at Georgia Tech (W 91-75.)
Feb. 2, 2026: vs. Syracuse (87-77)
Feb. 7, 2026: vs. Duke (W 71-68)
Feb. 10, 2026: at Miami (FL) (L 75-66)
Feb. 14, 2026: vs. Pitt (W 79-65)
Feb. 17, 2026: at NC State (L 82-58)
Feb. 21, 2026: at Syracuse (W 77-64)
Feb. 23, 2026: vs. Louisville (W 77-74)
Feb. 28, 2026: vs. Virginia Tech (W 89-82)
March 3, 2026: vs. Clemson (W 67-64)
March 7, 2026: at Duke (L, 76-61)
March 12, 2026: vs. Clemson (L, 80-79) (ACC Tournament)
March 19, 2026: vs. VCU (NCAA Tournament)
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: NCAA Tournament: UNC basketball vs. VCU preview, prediction and more